In an era when Premier League footballers are as likely to greet their colleagues with a ‘hola’ as ‘hello’, it is difficult to appreciate why Roberto Martinez was such a pioneer.

Today’s fans may be au fait with stars such as Juan Mata, Fernando Torres and Mikel Arteta, but 18 years ago when Everton’s future manager first arrived at Wigan things were very different.

Martinez had joined the then Third Division Latics along with team-mates Jesus Seba and Isidro Diaz in a trio soon dubbed The Three Amigos after the popular 1986 Steve Martin bandit comedy.

Only Nayim had made the journey before them, leaving Spain to play for Spurs in 1988.

And unsurprisingly the move was sealed after a little sprinkling of chatterbox chairman Dave Whelan’s silver-tongue – and a misleading impression of the great British climate.

“Dave Whelan went out of his way to make us feel that he wanted us to sign for the club,” recalled Martinez later. “We came over in July 1995 and, as well as being accompanied by our agent, we always had someone with us from JJB Sports who could speak Spanish. Everyone who dealt with us that week made us feel special and welcome. They even organised a trip to Blackpool and, somehow, our visit was made on a sunny day! We were lured into thinking that the weather in Britain was alright.

“We even told our friends and families on our mobiles that it was not very different from Spain!”

The Three Amigos helped Wigan grab national attention and – at their former Springfield Park home at least – generate a good winning record as the Spaniards shone despite doubts over their ability to adapt to the British game.

Martinez added: “Despite the potential difficulties, all the players gelled well together. Jesus Seba and Isidro Diaz were both wide players. They were fantastically gifted players who liked to slow the game down, have one on one battles and score goals! I played in the centre of midfield and it was my role to play as the link-up and try to get the ball to the front men.”

Whelan’s relentless ambition to drive Wigan up the leagues meant Martinez played under nine different managers during his five seasons at the club.

At the end of his first season, Martinez had been the club’s top scorer with 13 league goals and was named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was also named the club’s player of the year.

However he found it challenging to some aspects of the English third division game – an attitude that clashed with his continental outlook on how players should look after themselves.

”The major contrast for me was that on the continent it is drummed into you that if you want to make it as a professional footballer you have to look after yourself, so that you can compete against other members in the squad. You also learn the importance of eight hours sleep, the need to cut out alcohol and to eat the right kind of food. All of a sudden, I found myself in a footballing atmosphere where the philosophy seemed to be that as long as you give everything, everything is allowed.

"It was a great shock for me to realise what the famous British team bonding sessions actually involved! Remarkably, the next morning the players would be on the training field. It reminded me of the phrase, ‘If you are good enough to party, you need to be good enough to work’.”

Nevertheless Wigan won the Third Division during his second season, and once again he made the PFA side. The season may have ended successfully for Wigan, but it signalled the end for the Three Amigos. Seba had already left feeling homesick and frustrated at his lack of playing time, but his career was revitalised with a move back to Zaragoza.

Diaz and Martinez re-signed at Wigan and played often in the 1997-98 season, despite having the chance to return to La Liga. It emphasised what was to become an enduring bond with the Latics.

In 2001 Wigan made it to the Second Division play-off semi-final, only to throw away a leading position against Reading. Martinez’s contract was up that summer but with the managerial merry-go-round in full swing at Wigan, he was left in no man’s land without a new deal. He felt he had to move on.

Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League offered him a deal, so he swapped the rain of the north west for the rain and cold north of the border. It was a move he would later reflect upon with a sense of frustration.

However it allowed him to remain in direct contact with a friend he had made at Wigan, Graeme Jones, who was then playing for one of Motherwell’s rivals St Johnstone. Their friendship continued to develop, and today Jones is Martinez’s new assistant manager at Everton.

“I have always had a strong footballing relationship with Graeme and a high respect for his ability to understand the game, despite the fact that our footballing backgrounds could not be further apart,” he says.

"I was (later) delighted to bring him from Hamilton Academicals to Swansea as my assistant manager.”